The long-standing Miami Improv comedy club has relocated to Kendall. It opened with former Y100 radio personality Michael Yo in twin performances on Mar. 22 at Homefield Sports Bar & Grille in the Kendall Village Center shopping complex.
Less than six months after closing its doors in Coconut Grove, Miami Improv announced on Mar. 18 that it had moved its nationally known comedy performances to Kendall.
Yo, a CBS Insider host and a regular on E’s Chelsea Lately, began the Improv’s Kendall schedule with a special one-time “Hot Mess Comedy Tour” event before capacity crowds.
Coming soon are two nationally known comic headliners: Steve-O (Stephen Glover) at 8 p.m. on Apr. 17 and Rob Schneider on Apr. 19 in two performances at 7 and 9:30 p.m.
“We have been looking for a great entertainment attraction to match the upscale Kendall market at Village Center,” said David Singer, vice president of Berkowitz Realty Group. “We think this will add still another new cultural and entertainment presence in Kendall centered around the Village Center.”
The 12,000-square-foot Homefield Sports Bar was equipped with staging and audio facilities to accommodate live performances, he added.“Addition of The Miami Improv to Homefield Sports Bar and Grill increases entertainment offerings to seven days at the already-established sports bar, music and entertainment club. We were most interested in having a group with the great reputation of the Improv tradition locate in Kendall,” said Singer, who coordinated the relocation with Kendall Village Associates Ltd., shopping center landlord.
The center also houses a Regal 16-plex Stadium Seating Theater that recently opened an Imax venue, Nova Southeastern University and a Civic Pavilion that regularly hosts Kendall Federation of Homeowner Associations’ meetings as well as special community events.
Once tucked away at 3390 Mary St. in Coconut Grove, the shuttered Miami Improv had to refund advance ticket sales when it closed in November 2013.
Part of a chain extending across the U.S., Improv has club locations in both Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach, as well as New York City and Hollywood, CA.
No stranger to theatrical firsts, Miami’s Actors’ Playhouse was established in 1988 in a converted Kendall Mall movie theater, moving to Coral Gables in 1995 to continue performance schedules in the Miracle Theater, redeveloped for a three-stage performance center.
In addition, the Roxy Theater Group, a non-profit youth arts program, opened in 2002 with classes in drama, voice and dance for children ages 3-17 and yeararound theatrical performances at 1645 SW 107 Ave., opposite the FIU campus.
The Improv Comedy Clubs have provided premiere stages and launching grounds for a “Who’s Who” of American comedy, including names like Billy Crystal, Eddie Murphy, Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld and Tim Allen for nearly a half-century.
The comedy theater now has expanded to 20 locations throughout the US, following the first in New York for young Broadway performers in a more intimate environment, initially envisioned by producer Budd Friedman.
Tickets for all future shows can be purchased at <homefieldimprov.com> or by calling the box office at 305-271-0505.
